New prorector: We need to start doing some things better and differently

The Museum of Ancient Arts was packed with people last Tuesday, when Berit Eika´s accession as the new prorector of education at Aarhus University was celebrated at a grand reception.

The Museum of Ancient Arts was packed with people last Tuesday, when Berit Eika´s accession as the new prorector of education at Aarhus University was celebrated at a grand reception. The list of speakers was quite impressive, and a number of current and former colleagues, both from AU and from elsewhere, spoke highly of Berit Eika, who said that she was thankful for the trust placed in her, and that she was humbly looking forward to the tasks that lie ahead.

`What we are celebrating today, is to a large extent, the fact that Aarhus University has chosen highlight its high priority the field of education. The increased focus upon training and education at AU is to ensure that we have a chance of getting even better at things that we are already doing well, and that we are also prepared to try new strategies in some areas. Regardless of whether you are a student, a lecturer or a member of the administrative staff, Aarhus University must be a motivational and meaningful place to be. This also means that there are areas where we need to start doing things a bit differently, Berit Eika said in her speech at the Museum of Ancient Arts´.

Deans: Berit has already shown us what she is made of!

The first speaker was BSS dean Svend Hylleberg, who spoke on behalf of the university management. He thanked Berit for having applied  for the position as prorector, and gave her praise, tongue in cheek, for `already having shown the university management what she is made of, even though it can be hard to get through to a group of deans, who think that they know it all´.

Berit´s former boss, and current colleague in the university management, Allan Flyvbjerg, had to admit that he felt somewhat like `the father of the bride, who, sadly, but also hopefully, sends his daughter out into the storms of life´, and he was happy to being able to cooperate closely with Berit in the university management.

The rostrum and the microphone (which both gave inspiration to many comments regarding the tallness and the egos of the various speakers) were also used by Berit´s for colleague from the pedagogical units, Torben K. Jensen, who is now head of the Center for Teaching and Learning at AU:

`You are aware that AU was not created in 2011. You know what professional competence is about, and you are aware that management is about setting a course, and sticking to it, rather than just making spectacular decisions. I am looking very much forward to our future cooperation´.

Apart from the speakers mentioned above, there were also speeches by peter Friese, prorector at Via University College, where Berit Eika is a board member, former Head of Education at HEALTH, Hanne Toksvig, who is also Berit´s neighbor opposite throughout many years, and Vice Dean for Education at BSS, Peter Østergaard.

Facts about Berit

  • Appointed Vice Dean for Education at HEALTH in 2011.
  • Received the Aarhus University Pedagogical Award (2007)
  • Appointed professor of Medical Pedagogy (2005)
  • Has orchestrated the upcoming changes of the Quota 2 intake of medical students, which, from 2016 and onwards, will include entrance examinations.
  • Co-founder of the AU Educational Development Network at Aarhus University
  • Was the driving force behind the establishment of Centre for Medical Education at Aarhus University
  • Has established a skill and simulation center for medical students at AU
  •  As a professor, she has worked as a consultant for the universities in Lund, Tromsø, Bergen and Oslo, Norway, and the Karolinska Institutet
  •  Master's degree programs in medical education and health informatics from Maastricht University and Aalborg University
  • Wrote her PhD dissertation on the urological complications of diabetes patients (1994)
  • Holds a Master of Medicine (cand.med) from Aarhus University (1986)